Control structure for electrically heated devices



`April 11, 1950 FfI McCULLOUGl-l 2,503,960

CONTROL STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRICALLY HEATED DEVICES Original Filed Jan. 8, 1943 FIGA.

FIGA..

INVENTOR PAUL J. MCCULLOUGH A ORNEY Patented Apr. 11, 1950 l .CQNTROLSTBUCTURE EELEQ'IRICALLY XHEATED DEVICES 1 rauizer/Mcouiiough, ist. Louis,i-Mo.,-. assigner, 4by

\`.-mesne assignments, to The asiswellg;Gom-v pany,tlncorporated, St. ,LouisMapaicorpora- ;,tionofy Missouri l OriginalL afpplicationlanuaryi: 8,-'1943f Serial.L No. f

471,686. Dividedfand thisapplicatonfEebruar-y 1;..f19475zSerialaNm 725,853

"2 Claims The invention, relates, to -,apparatus.. for 4 con- .trolling the operationsof :electric toasters `l`lor other fg, cookers and f more particular-,ly .to such apparatusawhich Ais`l set for a a ,heating :I operation =duringaipredetermined period only and then acts @automatically jitoi terminate the heating -allyioperated member for closing theV electrical circuit, energizing the timingmechanisrn and determining the.'settinggof"theilatter, i. e., the timingperiod.

y,The,invention is adaptedor use on Atoasters on other., cookers wherein the timingperiod. is

gdetermined,by the extent lor. movement ,ofyan operating handle which energizes the timing mechanism.

Another object is to provide a manually adjustable element on the operating handle to determine the extent of movement of the operating handle and which is visible to the operator in all its positions.

These and other detail objects of the invention as will appear below are attained by the structure shown in the accompanying drawings, which structure is intended to be illustrative and not exclusive of other arrangements embodying the general inventive principles. In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the left-hand end of a domestic bread toaster.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section through the toaster taken approximately on the line 2--2 of Figure 1, portions of the device being shown in broken lines to more clearly illustrate the structure.

Figure 3 is a detail elevation, drawn to enlarged scale, of the operating handle and associated control element at the left-hand end of the toaster in Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the operating handle taken approximately on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

The toaster body includes a base I, a housing 2 and end plates 3 forming the toasting chamber 5. These parts also comprise framing upon which the resistance heaters, the timing mechanism, the switch and other elements are carried. The body base, housing and end plates may be constructed and assembled as illustrated and described in Patent No. 2,404,915, issued to the present inventor July 30, 1946.

Each of the heating units consists offres istance ,wires .f 'If wound.v .upon-.,a.; sheet, of c. insulation and .supportedaby bars :8.,y fromqy plates 3. ,The

toaster A, preferably 1 includes .,.thfree .such .,unita -therebeing,l a Lspacebetween the, middlemnit and :each-side A,unitiorf a v.slice oij,.;bread to .ba-toasted. End plate..` 3. mounts;,spaced,llplightsx andra .channehshaped carriage ,III has ..apertured flanges l I slidablealongsthe,uprights. .,.Slicesup porta I2, ,rigidi with carriage., I Il'r -extendathrou'gh ,-ISlOtSfJ 3i-'implanter 4 A tensionfcoil ,serieel lf-.has its lower end securedl to the lowerifflange II; of .carriage,lltand has itsiupper,.endanchoredlto a ,bracket I E on. ,plate 3. .Ihe-E spring.,l yieldingly supportati@ carriage! 0.and fthe,paris mouhtd marconi in.lthe,..e1evated pcston,.irdiatedlgin Figures Land 2.

lhe.y timing, `,nnecharlsrn .uniti includes@- 'Gluck work escanemeut. indicated u,igerwr'ally fat 11.6, which 'has a `main gear I 'I` `driven'^by` a friction disc I8 provided with an arm I9 which carries'a latching and trip lever 20 pivoted to the arm at ZI and tilted in a clockwise direction by a tension coil spring 22. A coil spring ISa is anchored to bracket I5 and pulls arm I9 upwardly.

A bracket 23, rigid with carriage I0, extends through a slot in the front wall of the housing and mounts a handle 24 by which the carriage may be moved manually from the elevated position shown in Figure 1 to a lowered position in which a lug 25 on the upper flange I I of carriage I0 will engage a notch 26 on lever 20 to hold carriage I0 and the parts mounted thereon against upward movement by spring I4 except as permitted slowly by clock work escapement i5 and as released by the tripping of lever 2B by a link 27 pivoted at 28 and slotted to receive the tail of lever 20 and limit its upward movement with carriage III, thereby swinging notch 2B to the left. Link 21 may be controlled by-a thermostat 29 to trip lever 20 at different intervals of time dependent upon the temperature to which,- the .thermostat is subjected. This timing mechanism unit in itself does not constitute the present invention but is illustrated, described and claimed in an earlier Patent No. 2,336,696, issued to the present inventor December 14, 1943.

As carriage I0 is moved manually to lowered position by handle 24, a switch (not shown) closes and energizes heating units 6. When carriage IFJ is moved to elevated position by spring I4 at the end of a toasting period, the switch opens and de-energizes heating units E.

The period during which carriage IIJ and the parts mounted thereon moves upwardly before 3 lever 28 is tripped by link 21 depends (aside from the thermostatic positioning of link` 21) upon the initial downward movement of the carriage by handleV 24. 'This downward movement is limited by the engagement of a stop 3D on body base l by a piece 3l slidable along the rear face of handle 24 and having a horizontal finger 32 projecting through a horizontal slot S extending transversely of the handle. Metal strips 36 and 31 extend into slot S and strip 36 also extends along the rear face of handle 24. The strips provide bearing surfaces for piece 3|` and finger 32. A at spring 33 seated against a shoulder 34 on bracket 23 thrusts piece 3l against the rear face of the handle to frictionally retain the, piece in its adjusted position transversely of the handle.

The lower edge 35 of piece 3l which engages stop 30 forms a cam surface whereby the downward movement of handle 24..Will be varied according to the lateral adjustment of piece 3l on the handle.

The switch is closed and the timing mechanism is energized and the device set for terminating the operation at the end of a predetermined period by the manual manipulation of a single part, namely the handle 24, and the timing period may be varied by an element of this same part, namely finger 32 which is slidable transversely of the handle and visible to the operator in all its positions. In other words, the user needs to observe but a single restricted part of the toaster.

It will be understood that the features referred to' may be embodied in devices other than bread toasters and in detailed structure differing substantiallyfrom that illustrated and described without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, a manually operative handle for initiating operation of the device, a timing mechanism controlled by extended movement of the handle; the timing period being determined by the extent of movement of the handle, a fixed stop to limit movement of the handle, and an adjustable element slidably mounted on the rear face of said handle and having a cam-like surface depending below said handle for engaging said xed stop, a manually engageable part extending forwardly of the handle for adjusting said element, and a springlike part urging said element against the rear face of said handle to hold said element in adjustment.

2. A handle for the purpose described comprising a longitudinally slotted housing, an adjustable element slidably mounted on the rear face of said housing and having a cam-like surface extending below said housing, a manually engageable part slidable in the slot in said housing and extending forwardly of said housing to effect adjustment of said element, and a springlike part urging said element against the rear face of said housing to hold said element in adjustment.

PAUL J. MCCULLOUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,293,741 Lucia Aug. 25, 1942 2,332,064 Duiy Oct. 19, 1943 2,336,696 McCullough Dec. 14, 1945 

